Winter, or what passes for it in Southern California, seems to be behind us already.

So it’s time to think ahead to spring gardens, right? If so, two words come to mind: Seed bombs. You can begin planning now to create your own wildflower frenzy with these simple sowing wonders.

The bombs, or some peace-minded folks prefer to call them seed balls, consist of compost, seeds and water, made into small mixtures resembling dirty meatballs.

Making these mini planting projectiles is an easy and fun way to garden no matter what your age is, according to Dolores Ruiz, Grow Native Nursery manager at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont.

“It’s like playing in mud, and it’s just fun mixing it all up and getting seeds out there,’’ said Ruiz, who has conducted seed bomb workshops at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont in the past.

The seed bomb is familiar to many guerilla gardeners or well-intentioned individuals determined to help vacant lots and other similar types of spaces blossom, but Ruiz isn’t encouraging that route. Instead, she promotes the use of wildflower seeds in your own yard, which in turn promotes the growth of native plants such as California poppies, desert marigold and nemophila menziesii, commonly called baby blue eyes. Native plants and wildflowers have adapted to the local environment and shouldn’t cause problems with existing flora and fauna.

The process is easy once the seed balls are made. Ideally, rains cause the clay to dissolve and the seeds to disperse and sprout. But since Southern California hasn’t had much of a rainy season, sprinklers will do the trick, too. Now is a good time to make and distribute them if you want a colorful array of flowers in March and April. Birds, bees and other pollinators are particularly attracted to wildflowers, so using this planting method has the added bonus of creating floral habitats that keep an ecosystem healthy.

Rachel Young, director of horticulture at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge, is a seed ball fan, too. Several years ago, the native plant garden there was having trouble sprouting. The culprits were hungry birds and squirrels who ate the seeds. Staff experimented with other ways to plant and decided to continue with traditional methods but to augment that with creating and tossing several hundred seed balls throughout the space. It worked.

The old way of sowing seeds without disturbing the soil can work in home gardens as well. The clay used to form the balls protects the seeds until the right conditions for growing present themselves, and the compost nourishes the sprouting plants once they take root. In sunny areas, some choices for seed bomb material include poppies, cornflower, marigold; Californian poppies; cosmos; and hollyhocks.

Whichever combination you choose is up to you.

Seed bomb recipe

Here’s a quick recipe for gardening fun provided by Descanso Gardens (Recipe is from www.pathtofreedom.com/pathproject/gardening/seedballs.shtml)

Suzanne Sproul is a lucky wife and proud mom of two great daughters. She’s a transplanted Snow Bird from Chicago who prefers warm climates, particularly central Florida and its beautiful Gulf Coast and Southern California, where she’s lived most of her life. The University of Florida J-school graduate has been a city reporter and features editor, but has spent the past 27 fun years covering stories she loves -- features about SoCal’s diverse and trendy homes+gardens and eclectic arts/entertainment along with her weekly column about the good people of the Inland Empire. When she’s not filing stories, you can find her gardening at home, biking with her husband, jumping around in Zumba class, organizing family adventures – digging for hanksite clusters at the Gem-o-Rama in Trona, anyone? – or rooting for favored sports teams. I’m looking at you USC Trojans, University of California Davis Aggies, University of Florida Gators and those loveable Chicago Cubs, World Champions 2016. Life really is good!

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